Battle Against Shanlan

"We have limited time, so I'll share my experience with neural drift compatibility. Maybe it'll help you."

Jacob Smith climbed down from the suspension rig and addressed the group of future Jaeger pilots.

"Neural drift compatibility connects two pilots tightly by tracing through both of your memories."

"From what I've seen so far, neural drift compatibility isn't innate. It depends on your will to fight."

"Or you could call it emotion. You have to truly enter each other's memories. You are him, not an observer."

"Of course, that's difficult. You can also empty your mind and stop thinking about useless things."

"Remember, you have only one target: the kaiju in front of you!"

"If fear takes root in your heart, it will naturally affect your neural drift compatibility."

"Empty talk is just armchair strategy. Practice and coordination are the proper path."

"PPDC headquarters also has Jaeger simulation neural drift testing units. They've added a combat mode to the original system."

"They contain data on known kaiju, as well as data on Jaegers built by your respective countries. Now, start practicing."

Having said that, Jacob stopped bothering with them. Jaeger pilots mainly relied on coordination to maintain stable neural drift compatibility.

Of course, fighting techniques were important too, but those could not be mastered in a day or two.

For now, it was enough to teach them some practical experience with neural drift compatibility.

Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan exchanged a glance, then entered a simulation pod.

Nation Z had an old saying: a master opens the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.

Naturally, the two of them understood that principle. They could not possibly expect someone else to teach them hand by hand.

Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan put on their helmets. They were like VR goggles, with a screen appearing directly before their eyes.

Only four Jaegers had currently been recorded: The U.S.'s Wanderer and Explorer, Nation E's Cherno Alpha, and Nation Z's Mount Tai.

A variety of kaiju had also been recorded. All the kaiju that had attacked the Pan-Pacific Defense Line were listed.

Including Bladehead.

Xiao Shou found that rather surprising. After all, it had only happened two days ago.

The technology at PPDC headquarters truly was superior.

When General Jonathan had said that this place gathered the world's finest talents, he had not merely been boasting.

They had the real deal.

Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan directly selected Nation Z's Mount Tai Jaeger template.

There was no need to think about it. Naturally, they would choose their own Jaeger for a simulated battle.

Choosing Wanderer would be useless. In reality, no one was going to let them pilot it anyway...

Of course, for the other rookie Jaeger pilots besides Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan, getting an early taste of piloting a Jaeger was still pretty good.

This time, they chose Shanlan as their opponent.

It was an obsession lodged deep in Xiao Shou's heart.

Then came the familiar process of tracing memories.

Xiao Shou had already broken through the barrier in his heart.

Naturally, he would no longer be trapped in the river of memories.

However, his neural drift compatibility had also dropped somewhat.

After all, it had been at its highest when he broke free from those memories.

No one could remain at their peak forever.

Even so, Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan's two-person neural drift compatibility was still at ninety-two percent.

It was second only to the Wanderer pair's record-high compatibility.

After the map loaded, Xiao Shou was surprised to find that the location was Dalian.

Dalian before its destruction.

Those towering buildings were so familiar.

At last, among them, he found a small three-story building.

The words Dalian City Third Social Welfare Institute were clearly engraved above its entrance.

Xiao Shou's eyes reddened. Though he knew it was fake, merely an illusion, he still could not help missing it.

"Roar!"

Shanlan's porcupine-like body appeared before Xiao Shou.

It was so lifelike, exactly as it had looked in Xiao Shou's memories.

"This time, I won't let you destroy Dalian again!"

When enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred.

Xiao Shou turned every trace of sorrow into fury toward Shanlan.

He immediately charged at Shanlan.

Virtual was virtual, after all. It could not perfectly recreate reality.

Xiao Shou felt no different from usual as he ran, without any of the heavy resistance that came with a Jaeger.

But that suited Xiao Shou just fine. It meant he could give the thing a more satisfying beating.

Xiao Shou hated Shanlan to the bone.

It had taken away the family members who had loved him most.

Unrestricted by gravity, Mount Tai quickly reached Shanlan.

Shanlan's expression was stiff, and only its continuous roars came from its mouth.

Mount Tai raised its right arm and smashed it viciously toward Shanlan.

Using the force of its charge, it knocked Shanlan down, taking the building behind it down as well.

Shanlan whimpered, but Mount Tai naturally would not give it the chance to get back up.

It lunged forward and swung another fist at Shanlan.

Naturally, Shanlan would not wait helplessly for death. Its fur bristled into spikes.

It slammed viciously into Mount Tai, sparks flying from the Jaeger's surface as it was sent hurtling backward.

"I underestimated you!"

"Disable safety mode. Activate the electromagnetic gravity projector!"

A cannon barrel extended from Mount Tai's right arm, but it was not an electromagnetic particle cannon.

The electromagnetic gravity projector could attract nearby objects and hurl them at a target. Metal materials were especially easy to pull in.

This was also Mount Tai's first time using this weapon.

The projector activated and fired a beam of light. Xiao Shou aimed it at a building beside Shanlan, then threw it toward Shanlan.

The nearby skyscraper was suddenly pulled by gravity, collapsing onto Shanlan.

This kind of attack was more visually striking than an electromagnetic particle cannon.

It was just a bit hard on the buildings...

"Warning: insufficient energy reserves!"

Just as Xiao Shou was about to give Shanlan a second shot, the warning sounded.

"Looks like I can't use this projector carelessly. Its energy consumption is terrifying—almost equal to five electromagnetic particle cannon shots. Its cost-effectiveness is a little low."

Xiao Shou put away the projector and took advantage of Shanlan still being trapped beneath the surrounding rubble.

He went up and gave it a huge slap across the face.

Uh, no, it was a heavy punch...

"Rocket thrusters charging!"

A thruster port extended from Mount Tai's right elbow, blasting azure flames from its rear.

"Charge complete. Heavy punch!"

Mount Tai's right fist slammed viciously into Shanlan's body, jolting the surrounding ruins.

It was not that Xiao Shou did not want to use the Mo Dao. There was simply no data for the Mo Dao in this virtual world. Perhaps it lacked sufficient parameters for the real blade.

Still, this feeling of fists striking flesh was not bad either.

No wonder Cherno Alpha had always relied on those iron fists...

After several consecutive heavy blows from Mount Tai, Shanlan no longer showed any signs of life.

This battle had ended rather quickly, but that was only to be expected.

First, in terms of combat parameters, Shanlan had only barely entered the Category 2 kaiju range.

Mount Tai, meanwhile, was the world's fourth Jaeger, but its design was close to perfect.

It was taller and heavier than the other three Jaegers, and its weapon loadout was more comprehensive.

Compared to Cherno Alpha, which only had a pair of iron fists, it was practically a lavishly upgraded monster.

It had every kind of close-range and long-range weapon, even a Mo Dao. It was practically epic gear plus twenty.

It was currently the world's most powerful Jaeger in combat, at least before laser weapons were developed.

Now it was no longer safe to say that. There was nothing to be done about it—Wanderer was basically cheating!

Using it to deal with a Shanlan that had barely reached Category 2 was no challenge at all.

Xie Yushan could have won even with a dog as her partner.

Xiao Shou: "???"

Second, Shanlan's size made it hard for it to get up, so it had been constantly struggling to rise after being knocked down.

The only thing Xiao Shou had learned from the previous Bladehead battle was the principle of kicking someone while they were down and finishing them off.

Poor little pig...

This taught them a lesson!

Lose weight!

Otherwise, you won't even be able to get back up when someone beats you!